//------------------------------// // Preparations // Story: Technicalities // by BionicBrony //------------------------------//         It was a quiet, sunny day, as most days in Ponyville were—statistically speaking anyway. Twilight Sparkle had been making her way to the park to have a picnic brunch with her friends, but for one reason or another, she decided to take a detour. Traveling along the northern border of town, she followed a path that brought her directly in front of the Liandri building. Twilight had planned to just simply walk by, but something compelled her to pause for a moment and linger.         On the surface, the building itself was as quiet and peaceful as ever, but Twilight knew that beyond those walls, deep underground, it was a cacophony of activity. It had been almost two weeks since she had last seen Alex. Twilight had pulled through on her promise to visit him the next day after the accident, and she was even present in the drawing room when Alex and Rose designed a replacement forearm. It was built by the end of the day, but Alex expressed how numb it felt and how clunky it moved. The day after that, Twilight wasn’t even allowed in. Rose had told her that Alex was much too busy at the time and couldn’t allow visitors to distract him. It was understandable—he was busy remaking something he lost because of her. If he needed the concentration, he needed the concentration. Twilight of all ponies understood the value of privacy while working. Why should she be allowed to distract him? But since then, Rose gave her the same reason over and over. Alex was always too busy. He was never like this before. Twilight knew Rose was telling Alex that she was there. She always said she did, and even when he was busy before, more often than not, he would let Twilight come in and show her what he had been working on. Details were usually scarce, but he always explained the basic principles. Should she try again today? Invite him and Rose to the picnic? Everypony was definitely worried about him… “Well hello there, Twilight!” Twilight had been so lost in thought that she almost jumped when Rarity spoke to her from behind. “Oh! Gosh, you startled me. What are you doing here, Rarity?” The fashionista tisked as she trotted up next to her friend. “One might ask you the same thing, darling. I was just coming by to see if either Alex or Rose wished to come to our picnic. It’s been ages since we’ve seen them, especially Alex.” “Yeah, I was thinking the same thing.” Rarity nudged Twilight’s stiff form with a hoof. “Well why don’t we inquire together, hm?” “Alright…” Twilight conceded as they made their way to the garage’s front door. “I don’t think they’ll want to come, though. They’ve both been really busy for the past two weeks.” “Well we’ll just see about that, now won’t we?” The front door whirred open as they passed, just as it always did to the public. “Good evening, Rose! I trust you’re doing well today?” The eyes of the nearby domestic that usually welcomed ponies turned blue. “Hello Rarity. Twilight. I’m doing well today. Yourself?” “Oh we’re doing marvelously, thank you for asking,” said Rarity with a chipper smile. “You know, the girls and I are convening for a picnic in a few minutes. Twilight and I were wondering if Alex and yourself would be willing to join us? We’ve hardly seen each other for the past two weeks since the… well, the accident.” The domestic shook its head. “My apologies, but Alex is currently undergoing therapy. Perhaps some other time.” Twilight felt a knot form in her gut. “Therapy? What kind?” “Blood exchange therapy,” was Rose’s answer. The knot suddenly loosened itself as confusion replaced it. “Huh…? What kind of therapy is that?” “It’s a form of sensory deprivation during which blood is oxygenated from an alternate source than his lungs and his BCI is connected directly into an exocortex.” “Sensory deprivation…?” Twilight and Rarity shared an uneasy look. “Isn’t that a form of torture…?” The domestic shrugged. “Possibly. I wouldn’t know. Alex claims it ‘opens his mind.’ Whatever works for him, I suppose.” Twilight shook her head. “Right… Could you at least let him know we’re here?” The domestic crossed its arms. “Alright, but I can’t guarantee an answer you’ll like.” After a brief pause, Rose said, “Well this is a surprise. Alex says you can come down.” Twilight immediately perked up, an unconscious gasp escaping from her. “Really?!” “Well we just wanted to invite you both for the picnic, not come—eep!” was what Rarity managed to say before Twilight yanked her into the elevator with her magic. As she was regaining her bearings, she huffed, “You didn’t need to be so forceful about it… we’re here to invite them to a picnic, remember?” Twilight bit her lip as she glanced away. “I know, but Alex shut himself in and everypony else out for the past two weeks. I guess I just got a bit excited…” As the elevator door opened, Rose immediately met them with her more human body. Instead of the vibrant red dress she wore at the Gala, however, she wore casual clothing she had recently acquired from Rarity: a pair of black slacks and a simple white blouse.  “Well hello again. If you’ll just follow me, Alex is right this way.” Rose greeted them with a small wave, then guided them past the lab and into the facility’s network of halls before she said, “Just so you both know, Alex is a little underdressed at the current moment.” Rarity waved her off. “As are we, darling. Honestly, I appreciate clothing just as much as anypony, but I don’t know why he makes such a big fuss about being dressed all the time.” After a short walk, Rose stopped in front of an automatic door. “All the better for you, I suppose. He’s just in here.” The door opened at those words, leading into a poorly lit room. It had no apparent lighting of its own, and all of the light that it was receiving was coming from the hall and another room further inside. That adjacent room, however, seemed to be separated by a thick glass window. Based on the light blue color coming from it and the ever so slight swirling patterns Twilight could discern on the floor, neighboring chamber appeared to be completely filled with water. On the side of the room opposite the window was a single chair, with a pile of neatly folded clothes resting on top. As Twilight stepped inside, her hoof making a loud click as it came into contact with the tiled floor—the same kind one would normally find in a shower. The door closed behind them as they all stepped in, leaving the strange window as the only source of light in the room. Being the only source of curiosity as well, Twilight naturally moved herself in front of it to see what was beyond. What she found, however, froze her legs and choked her heart. Rarity moved next to her. “Ooo, now this place is interesting. What’s in AH—!” Her shriek was cut off when Rose’s hand shot out and clamped around her muzzle. Beyond the window was a sealed off room, where Alex floated within. His eyes were closed, and his nude body completely hairless. A mask covered his mouth, with hoses leading out of it and connecting to a large machine that dominated the wall behind him. Other, larger tubes protruded from the machine as well, completely enveloping both of Alex’s arms up to the shoulder, and even his legs halfway up his thighs. Some smaller tubes connected directly into his body, three on each side symmetrically: Just under his ribs, in his lower abdomen, and directly into his lower back. When Rarity stopped her attempted screeching, Rose carefully removed her hand and asked, “Are you done?” She hesitantly nodded. “I think… I just… wasn’t expecting this…” After a pause, she quickly covered her eyes and added, “Oohhh… so that’s why he wears clothing all the time… It doesn’t, umm… cover itself up very well, does it?” Suddenly, Alex’s eyes snapped open, both of them glowing a bright, neon green, and causing both Twilight to yelp in surprise. For a moment, nothing was said—each party staring back at the other in silence. That is, until a strange voice emanated from Rose. “Hello, Twilight. Hello, Rarity. How are you?” It was still Rose’s body, but the eyes had turned green and its voice sounded more like a twisted mockery of Alex’s, despite being roughly close. “Um… we’re okay…” Twilight hesitated. “H-how are you?” “Enlightened,” was his answer. The two ponies shared a worrying look as Twilight said, “Ooookay… Is that because of your… um… this?” She waved her hoof around in his general direction. “Yes. I have gifted myself an opportunity, Twilight. To see beyond my eyes. To touch beyond my body. To think beyond my brain. To step into the body of another and experience the world anew. I have opened the door to a realm of existence far beyond our own; one that you couldn't even imagine.” Rarity let out a loud, nervous cough. “Well, I must say that this is all quite fascinating, but we were on our way to a picnic. We just dropped by to see if you would want to join us.” Alex’s gaze focused on Rarity. “A picnic. It’s been awhile since I’ve been out and about, hasn’t it? Alright. I’ll cut today’s session short.” With those words, Alex closed his eyes and Rose’s own returned to their normal color. A deep, vibrating hum filled the room around them as the water in Alex’s chamber drained over the next minute. When the water had been completely evacuated, Alex remained suspended from a large robotic mechanism while many other large arms from the machine behind him extended outward and carefully removed the tubes embedded in his body. Both Rarity and Twilight gasped in shock as the arms moved to the large tubes connected to his limbs and removed them. At first, they believed they simply covered his legs and arms, but the reality of it all was far more jarring. When the tubes were removed, their associated limbs were nowhere to be found. Their minds reeling at the discovery, the two ponies stared in stunned silence as another machine extended out and enveloped Alex in red light, drying him in only a few brief moments. Soon enough, it retracted and was replaced with other arms holding what looked like human arms and legs, which were subsequently placed where Alex was missing his own. They appeared very faithful to the originals; even the feet possessed all the necessary toes. The robotic arms effortlessly slid Alex’s prosthetic limbs into their sockets, which equally shielded their connections from view, while some unseen mechanism between his body and the limbs secured them. The prostheses themselves possessed a pure white casing which was segmented and sleek in its design, though made little effort to disguise their cybernetic nature. Fully installed, the machine released Alex’s limbs and allowed them to drop to his side before lowering him down to the ground. After a few more loud hisses and pops, the mask over his mouth lifted away, and the mechanism securing his body finally freed him. Opening his eyes once more, without their disconcerting green glow, the glass wall separating Alex and the ponies finally lowered itself on its own. He smiled, rolling his shoulders as he walked towards them, his new limbs moving as gracefully as their predecessors, and uncaring of his own nudity. “Sorry if I sounded a bit existential there. An exocortex like that really messes with your thought processes.” Neither of them said a word as Alex nonchalantly walked over to the pile of clothing and began dressing himself. From their new angle, the two ponies could see the mechanically ornate metallic spine running along the length of his back, digging itself into the base of his skull and into his hips, along with a number of new additions they were pretty sure weren’t there two weeks ago. After a while, he noticed their silence and eyed them curiously as he finished putting on his socks. “Hey, you two awake over there?” Twilight shook her head in an attempt to organize her thoughts. “Sorry, I just… I’m having a bit of difficulty figuring out… why?” Alex blinked at her as he was slipping on his pants. “Hm? Why what?” “This!” Twilight cried, waved a hoof at Alex. “All of this! Last time I saw you, you were missing a forearm, and now you’re missing everything! And that thing in your back it… Why?” “Necessity,” Alex answered simply with a shrug. “Necessity?!” “Well yeah. After I finished the forearm, I had a new hand, but I didn’t have the same strength in my arm as I used to. So I decided to surgically amputate the rest and work from there. But then my arms were unbalanced, so I replaced the other one too. But then I had to install an endoskeleton, otherwise I would’ve been able to pull my arms out of my sockets just by pushing my hands together too hard.” He twisted his back to show them the mechanical spine, pointing to it with a thumb. “That’s what this thing is. Can’t really see it, but it connects to my shoulders between the scapula and clavicle.” “And your legs? Your other eye? They were just fine; Why those?” Alex shrugged, giving her an innocent smile. “Why not?” “But isn’t that uncomfortable…?” Rarity asked, nervously rubbing a foreleg. “Having all those bits just… digging into your skin like that?” She finished with a shudder. “Sure, it was at first, but I got used to it,” Alex answered as his new hands gracefully buttoned up his short-sleeved shirt. “Now? I hardly notice a thing. Plus, I honestly feel better than ever. Take this for example: humans aren’t really the fastest creatures around, but we make up for it in endurance—if we’ve got the stamina, of course. I had neither speed, nor much stamina.” He slipped on a pair of shoes and stamped the ground twice with a foot. “Now I have both.” “Well, if that’s the way you see things…” “It is the way I see things.” Alex picked up a short-haired wig from the chair and stood in front of Rose, where both of their eyes began to glow green as they stared at each other. He continued as he adjusted the hair-piece. “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve had nothing to lose and everything to gain from the procedures. Sure, my former limbs worked perfectly fine, but these ones work just as well; if not better.” After he finished adjusting his hair to look just like it used to several months ago, Alex’s and Rose’s eyes returned to their normal color and he turned back towards his guests with a clap of his hands. “So, what was that about a picnic?” In the field just outside Ponyville, four mares and a dragon had set up a white and red checkered blanket on the grass. Cakes, apples, sandwiches, and fresh drinks were neatly laid out, ready for the picnic to start. Spike sat on the blanket with his legs outstretched, nervously tapping his claws against a pair of rolled up letters. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were busy lounging while sharing two halves of a sandwich while Fluttershy carefully poured herself a cup of lemonade. Unlike the others, however, Pinkie Pie refused to relax, and instead kept her head high, silently scanning the area like a submarine’s periscope for their missing companions. After only a few minutes of this, she let out a pleased gasp and pointed off in the distance. “There they are! And they have Alex and Rose with them!” Before anypony was even able to acknowledge her outburst, she leapt up from her position and galloped towards her arriving friends. Alex waved over at her with a smile. “Hey, Pinkie. How are— whoa!” Pinkie, in her usual fashion, prevented Alex from finishing his sentence by running straight up to him while leaping with her forelegs outstretched for a classic tackle-hug. However, her attempt failed when Alex’s legs unconsciously braced themselves against the ground and his arms snapped out to catch her just under her forelegs. Her momentum wasn’t completely stopped, as her hind legs continued to swing forward and accidentally hit Alex in the gut, forcing his breath out of him, although he remained standing. Pinkie instantly covered her mouth. “Oh no! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you! Nice catch, though.” Her eyes widened for a breath of an instant. “Wait a second!” Pinkie raised her forelegs and spied his new prosthetic left arm. “Holy ravioli! You have a hand again!” She raised her forelegs over her head and slinked out of Alex’s grasp, whereby she grabbed onto the shiny new appendage with a hoof and tugged him over towards the others. “Everypony look! Alex has a new hand!” Applejack shot a skeptical glance their way, tilting her hat slightly upwards, while Rainbow Dash looked up from her position with wide eyes. “Whoa, seriously?” Practically dragging Alex the entire way, Pinkie thrust Alex and his arm in front of her. “Look! There it is!” More amused than anything else, Alex allowed Pinkie to swim in her excitement by flexing his new cybernetic fingers and wrist. Rainbow Dash simply stared at it in juvenile wonder. “Whoa… That’s so cool…! And you can just control it with your mind? Can you feel it when I poke you here? What about here?” “Yeah, I can,” Alex grinned. “It communicates directly from my nervous system, and even my BCI. Took a bit of training and therapy, but now it moves and feels just as well as the original.” “Look’s like that ain’t the only thing ya did to yourself,” Applejack commented, earning a confused look from Pinkie and Dash. She jerked her head back towards Alex. “Last time Ah checked, he only lost his left hand…” It took a moment for them to realize what Applejack was talking about, and at that point, Alex raised his right hand and flexed its digits as well. “Nice of you to notice, AJ,” he said. “Ya ain’t exactly makin’ an effort to hide it.” “Wait, are you telling me that you actually cut off your other hand on purpose?” asked Dash, more than a little bewildered. “Nope.” Alex quietly unbuttoned his shirt and exposed his hybrid shoulder. “The entire thing. Both arms.” Stunned silence was his response, accompanies by stupefied stares. Eventually, while pouring herself a glass of lemonade, Rarity said, “Yes, that was more or less our reaction as well.” “But why?” Fluttershy asked Alex, her brow creased up in worry. “Because it was lopsided,” he answered, buttoning his shirt back up again while he frowned in frustration. “The forearm prosthesis felt weird, so I replaced the whole damn thing. But then the right arm couldn’t compare, so I had to balance it out. I don’t get why you guys are making such a big deal out of this.” “But why wouldn’t we be making a big deal out of this!” Fluttershy cried. “You’re mutilating yourself! You’re tearing your own body apart!” “Correction: I’m improving myself,” Alex stated matter-of-factly as he sat himself down on the blanket, legs outstretched and crossed while his arms propped him up. “You probably don’t agree, but that’s just the fact of the matter. Now, I’m faster; stronger; better than I was before. You can’t argue with resul—.” “What the hay?!” Twilight suddenly shouted, silencing Alex and stealing everyone’s attention. Twilight, who had been completely silent up until this point, stared slack jawed at one of the letters Spike previously held. Everyone remained quiet, expecting some sort of answer for her outburst, but when Twilight continued to gape at the letter floating in front of her, Rose took the opportunity to stand behind her, hold her hands behind her back, bend over, and unceremoniously read over the unicorn’s shoulder. “Oh, I was expecting this,” said Rose. “It would seem that we’ve all been invited to a royal wedding up in Canterlot, between a one Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Captain Shining Armor.” “Wait, there’s a third fucking princess? Are you kidding me?” Alex blurted, earning himself a less than delicate tap in the side of the head from Applejack. “Oowww…” “So it would seem,” Rose answered. “Although I find it curious that I’ve never heard of either one of these individuals before.” “I’m afraid I’ll have to agree with both of you,” Rarity added, more than a little perplexed. “A third Equestrian princess by that name is certainly news to me. And while an invitation to their wedding is undoubtedly an honor, I can’t say I’m aware of having any social connections with the good captain either, which makes this all just a little bizarre…” Everypony else nodded and mumbled in agreement, prompting Twilight to carefully roll the letter back up and take a deep breath. “The reason we were all invited is because Shining Armor is my brother,” she announced. Nobody made a single sound for exactly two heart beats, whereupon Alex squealed, “Daaaaaaaaamn! I didn’t even know you had a brother! Congratulations!” Everypony else suddenly expressed their own form of happy congratulations, though quickly quieted down when they all noticed the acidic scowl on Twilight’s face. Rose tilted her head as she gave her a curious look. “You seem less than pleased.” Twilight scoffed as she stomped off to the edge of the picnic blanket. “Gee, is it really that obvious?” she snarked, her voice drenched in sarcasm. After everyone shared a quick glance of concern, Applejack asked, “What’s wrong, Twilight? Somethin’ like this is great news!” “Yeah, great news that I just got from a piece of paper,” Twilight harumphed. “You’d think that he would have told me about something like this in person, but noooo, I learned that my big brother is making one of the biggest life changing decisions of his life from an invitation to a wedding that’s taking place tomorrow! And ‘Princess Mi Amore Cadenza?!’ Who in the hoof is that?!” By the time Twilight had finished her rant, steam practically bellowed from her nostrils as she gave her friends the most furious snarl she had ever produced. Of course, Alex’s first thought was to comment on how he was pleased to know that the third princess was just as much of a mystery to everyone else as it was to him. But after observing the rage radiating off of Twilight, he decided it was probably a much better idea to keep his mouth shut this time around. Rose, however, didn’t much care for Twilight’s anger and instead smoothly walked over to the unicorn, pinched the end of her horn, lowered herself so that her gaze was level with Twilight’s, and firmly stated: “Calm yourself.” After she gave Rose a quick, doe-eyed stare, Twilight closed her eyes, inhaled deeply, and slowly let out her breath. Rose released Twilight’s horn once she reopened her eyes. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to be so snappy. It’s just that Shining armor and I have always been so close! He’s my BBBFF.” While everyone was busy exchanging confused looks, Rose wryly responded with “Gesundheit,” earning herself a flat look from Twilight. “My Big Brother Best Friend Forever,” Twilight clarified. “OH!” “Now I get it!” “Gotcha!” everyone chorused. Twilight sighed as she paced towards the side of the blanket facing Canterlot. “Before I learned the value of friendship, Shining Armor was the only pony I ever really thought of as a friend. We did everything together! He taught me basic magic; how to fly a kite; how to make instant noodles… All sorts of things! We even shared our hopes and dreams with each other…” She brought her head low, tears brimming in her eyes. “I just… I thought he would be my big brother best friend forever… Well, forever…” Applejack walked up to her friend, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “Your brother sounds like a real good guy, Twilight. Ah’m sure he had a good reason for telling you it this way.”         “He better,” said Twilight, raising her head. She quickly flashed a smirk as she and Applejack made their way back to their respective resting spots on the blanket. “But yeah, he is pretty awesome. I mean, they don’t just let anypony become captain of the royal guard.”         While everypony was busy gasping in surprise at the fact that they had been invited to attend a wedding between a princess and the captain of Celestia’s royal guard, Rose quickly and loudly interjected. “Hold that thought. If your brother is the captain of the royal guard, would that entail being in charge of the security and law enforcement of Canterlot?”         Twilight rubbing her chin. “Yeah, I think so. Why?”         “Then would it have anything to do with that?” Rose gestured behind herself with a thumb, pointing towards Canterlot itself, where a large amethyst colored sphere surrounded the entire city along its mountainside vista. “Just thought I’d point out this rather obvious detail: it seems to me that the entire city has some form of shield around it. If the wedding is really taking place tomorrow, then I think it would be safe to assume that that has something to do with it.”         “Makes sense,” Alex commented. “If your brother’s in charge of the security detail, I can’t imagine he had much time to tell you. Doesn’t really help that you live in different cities, either. I mean, letters are nice and all, but they’re not exactly instant messaging.”         “Not unless you use magic like Princess Celestia does,” Twilight countered. “Wait… Spike, wasn’t there a second letter?”         “Oh right!” said Spike as he reached behind himself for the second letter. “Here you go!”         Twilight unrolled the letter in her magic and read it aloud: “Dear Twilight, I am sure you are as excited as I am for the upcoming wedding in Canterlot. I will be presiding over the ceremony but would very much like you and your friends to help with the preparations for this wonderful occasion. Fluttershy, I would like you and your songbird choir to provide the music. Pinkie Pie, I can think of no one more qualified than you to host the reception. Applejack, you will be in charge of the catering for the reception. “Rainbow Dash, I would very much appreciate it if you could perform a sonic rainboom as the bride and groom complete their ‘I do’s. Rarity, you will be responsible for designing the dresses for the bride and her bridesmaids. As for you, Twilight, you will be playing the most important role of all: making sure everything goes as planned. For Alexander, I unfortunately have no pressing requests, as while security is a pressing issue these days, it is already being looked after by my royal guard and Captain Shining Armor himself. See you all very soon. Yours, Princess Celestia.” While everypony was swooning over the roles they had been given, especially Rarity who had subsequently passed out from excitement, Alex and Rose shared a perplexed look. Alex’s attention was then directed downward as a series of words in black lettering appeared on the blanket between them: That’s not what Celestia told me at the Gala. Alex frowned at the phrase. If Rose wasn’t telling him that out loud, then she must have had an interesting reason for it. Concentrating on the words on the blanket, Alex erased the sentence and replaced it: Private talk? Rose nodded to him once before turning to the others. “Well as interesting as this is, the next train for Canterlot leaves within an hour. Since the wedding is taking place tomorrow, I suggest we all hurry and gather our things.” Rarity shot up from her fainted position. “Oh my gosh! You’re right, we have to hurry!” Without so much as a goodbye, she jumped up and galloped off in the direction of carousel boutique. “Okay… How about we all meet at the train station in fifty minutes?” offered Alex. “Something tells me that shield up there won’t exactly let a Raven through.” “Sounds good to me,” said Twilight. “Alright everypony, we’ll meet at the train station in fifty minutes.” Alex and Rose started making their way back to the facility on their own. Once they were far enough away from the park, Alex asked, “You gonna let me in on something I don’t know?” “After we split up at the Gala, Celestia requested to speak to me privately,” Rose stated, keeping her gaze ahead. “She wished to conduct business with us with regards to this exact wedding.” “Wait, she told you about this two weeks ago?” “Yes, though she was scarce on the details.” “Well that doesn’t surprise me. What kind of business did she want from us, anyway?” “She wanted to hire us to provide extra security, which makes this letter a little confusing to me.” Alex frowned as the facility’s front door opened for them, a wave of cool air washing over him as they walked in. “Maybe she had second thoughts? Maybe she thinks her guards are up to the task?” The elevator opened up for them and the two made a beeline for it. “Perhaps, although her exact words with regards to her guards were: ‘They will be as capable as they need to be, but a little extra help couldn’t hurt.’” As the elevator closed behind them, the garage level became deathly silent. At least, for a brief number of seconds until the front door hissed open again, allowing the entrance of a white pegasus with a cotton candy pink mane. Saddlebags strapped snugly to her sides almost hid her cutie mark depicting the sun being flanked by a pair of small grey clouds. A domestic Liandri loitered near the entryway, and sprung into motion upon spotting the newcomer, startling her. The Liandri, however, ignored the mare’s reaction and continued with its scripted message. “Greetings. Welcome to the Liandri Science and Technology Research Facility, bringing you tomorrow, today. I am domestic unit number seventeen. You may refer to me as ‘Dom.’ How may I be of assistance?” The pegasus stared wide-eyed at the domestic bot as she took in its appearance. Lowering the hoof she raised to potentially defend herself, she said, “Oh hello… Nice to meet you.” “How may I be of assistance?” the Liandri repeated with the exact same intonation as before. “Oh it’s okay, I don’t need any help,” the pegasus said, pacing around the garage and gazing at various curiosities. “I was just passing through Ponyville, and when I heard about this place, I just felt the need to see it for myself.” She paused at the spot where Alex had previously built numerous vehicles by hand. While it was empty, the locale was still ready and equipped to accommodate a manual repair job. “Wow… just look at all this…” Very shortly after satisfying her curiosity, she marched up to the domestic. “Thank you for allowing me to see this place. It’s very impressive!” As she said those words, she carefully slid her wing into one of her saddlebags, and when she removed it, a rolled up scroll tattered to the floor. “Perhaps I’ll visit again some time!” With that said, the unnamed pegasus gleefully made her way to the exit. “One moment, miss,” the domestic interrupted, causing her to pause and cautiously look back. The domestic bent forward, picked up the scroll, and held it out towards her. “You dropped something.” She glanced at the scroll, then back up at the domestic’s face and smiled as she shook her head. “Sorry, that’s not mine. It’s probably yours.” She then turned away and walked out of the garage without another word, the domestic staring after her. In that moment, the domestic’s eyes turned blue and it looked down to more closely examine the scroll. It was rolled up neatly and bound by wax with Princess Celestia’s seal on it. Curious… Breaking the seal, Rose unfurled the scroll and read its contents: a letter addressed to Alex and herself. Taking a couple of seconds to read and commit the letter to memory, the domestic crumpled the letter and handed it off to the nearest Blue for incineration. “Okay, I’ll admit, it sounds pretty fishy,” said Alex as the elevator door opened to his room. “But hey, if she says she doesn’t need us, then she probably doesn’t need us.” Picking up his travel bag from next to the elevator and throwing it on the bed, he added, “Although I can damn well say that I feel way safer around the Liandri than I do around her guards.” “You’ll brook no disagreement from me,” said Rose as she sat down on the bed next to his bag. “Although Celestia’s behavior was rather odd. I don’t know exactly what it is, but she’s afraid of something; that much is clear.” Alex frowned as he grabbed an extra set of clothes from his wardrobe and packed them into his bag. “Afraid of something? Think it’s us?” “Perhaps. If that’s the case, then it would explain her eagerness to get on our good side.” Alex hummed in thought as he stared into his wardrobe. “It would… Hey Rose, what happened to my red— Oh…” He groaned. “Fuck, that means I have to go with a white dress shirt…” “And that’s a problem why?”. “Because white’s fucking boring.” He reached into his wardrobe and pulled out a white shirt, holding it up for inspection. “I mean come on, a suit that has no other colors than black and white? That’s about as generic as you fucking get.” Rose suddenly stood and held up a hand to interrupt him. “That can wait. We just got another letter.” Alex shot her a confused look. “Wait what?” On the wall above the head of his bed, the words of a letter materialized for Alex to see as Rose pointed to them. “See for yourself.” Dear Alexander and Rose, If the courier of this letter is timely, then you will no doubt already be aware of the contents of the letters sent to Twilight. According to my previous requests, I have no need of your services. This is incorrect. I simply did not wish to make a formal request of you, as I would prefer our business to remain out of the public eye, even to Twilight and her other friends. With that said, I ask that you destroy this letter once you have read and understood its contents. I would like to request that you bring at least half a dozen of your finest guards—the ones in red armor, I believe—and whatever other equipment you feel would be necessary to keep both yourselves and others protected during the wedding. I leave this discretion up to you. When you arrive in Canterlot, do not discuss my request with anyone, but instead, offer your willful assistance to the guard. I have instructed Captain Shining Armor to accept any help you may offer to bolster our security forces, and to be aware of your flying machine, should you so choose to come to Canterlot with it. I promise that you, like Twilight and her friends, will be generously compensated for your services. In advance, thank you for your assistance with this momentous occasion. Yours truly, Princess Celestia Alex reread the letter again, making sure he completely understood what was going on. Inhaling a large breath, he abruptly turned to Rose and said, “Well that doesn’t seem sketchy at all, now does it? Who the fuck delivered this?” Rose shook her head. “I don’t know. It was an unidentified pegasus. She dropped the letter out of her bags, but when the domestic tried to return it to her, she simply said it wasn’t hers and left. The letter had Celestia’s seal on it. I’m tempted to believe it’s legitimate.” “Do you?” “I’m more inclined to than not.” Rose crossed her arms as she stared at the letter on the wall. “Celestia is afraid of something. If what she told me at the Gala is the truth, then whatever it is involves her, us, and something else. Whatever it is, it’s serious enough that she wants to keep it a secret from Twilight, and even Luna. This doesn’t seem like much of a stretch.” Alex mirrored her pose. “So she was willing to talk to you about it but not her own fucking sister?” “To an extent, yes. In fact, she said that Luna, among a number of other ponies, must never know about her fear of whatever it is.” Alex growled as he lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. “She is so hiding something… Think it has something to do with that shield?” “Perhaps. Though if her tics were any indicator, it seemed like something much bigger than this. Needless to say, I have my doubts.” “Hmmm…” Alex scanned the letter again, examining the wording. “She definitely sounds a lot more serious in this letter. And that last sentence looks out of place - like it was tacked on.” “As if she were trying to dispel the underlying message?” “Yeah.” Alex looked over at Rose. “Any thoughts on a course of action?” “Yes.” She looked back at him. “I think we should do what she says.” Alex nodded. “Then that’s what we’ll do. We only have the two prototypes, right?” “Correct.” “Alright then.” As the letter vanished from the wall, Alex resumed his packing. “How long will it take to build the last four Reds?” “It’ll take some time to refine, mold, and temper the metals. The circuit boards and other electronics all need to be made from scratch, and I need to refit the assembly lines to accommodate Novas. All in all, it’ll take approximately two hours.” “Get to it. Actually…” Alex hummed to himself as he zipped up his bag. “I’m not entirely sure, but I think this wedding was in the TV show. Something tells me we’re going want a subtle, but strong Liandri presence to deter anyone from pulling anything.” He snapped his fingers as a thought came to him. “I got it. Get the Exo to The Pits for a new paint job. I’m going to head down there now and direct it. Here, take my bag to the Raven. I also want you gather my tinkering equipment and my pencil box.” Alex extended the handle on the bag before handing it off to Rose, and the two of them entered the Elevator anew. “What about our meeting at the train station?” Rose asked. “Fuck…” Alex muttered as the elevator began its descent. “Just send a unit to meet them and tell them not to wait up for us—we’ll be going to Canterlot later.” “Done. And if you’re going to be bringing your own ‘toy,’ then with your permission, I would like to construct an AVRiL for any extreme situation that may occur.” Alex slowly turned towards Rose with a grossly perturbed face. “An AVRiL? Don’t you think that’s just a little too excessive?” Rose returned his look with a critical gaze. “And the Exo isn’t?” While Alex inhaled to argue against her, he held in his breath for an extra moment as he allowed his thoughts to catch up, finally ending with: “Fair point.” The elevator opened at the level of the hangar and Rose walked out with Alex’s travel bag in tow. The door immediately closed behind her and Alex continued his descent further into the bowels of the facility. If this trip to Canterlot was going to be anything, boring wasn’t it. Later that day, on the balcony of one of Canterlot Palace’s highest towers, stood Princess Celestia, gazing outward through a telescope, searching for what anypony would assume would be the threat that looms over her capital’s head. Any passing observer could note her sentry duty from below, but only a keen eye would notice that her telescope never moved from its point of focus: Ponyville. Celestia’s eye had been lingering on the roof of the Liandri facility for a number of minutes until she heard the sound of hoofsteps approaching from somewhere behind her. Lifting her head to see who it was, she was met with the image of the third alicorn, the pink Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. “Ah, you’re back! I take it you’ve met with Twilight?” Princess Cadence nodded. “Just did. She seems suspicious, so I’d say we’re on track.” Celestia met her nod. “Good to hear. Oh, and did you deliver the letter to Alexander?” Cadence’s face lit up as she stood by Celestia on the balcony. “I did! I have to say, you weren’t kidding. He’s built some very impressive things. Think it’ll be enough?” “It’ll have to be,” Celestia said with a sigh. “I’ll be honest, Chrysalis, the next few weeks are going to be the most stressful time of our lives.” The disguised Changeling queen sighed as well. “You don’t have to remind me. It’s not like we’ll have more than one chance to get this right, after all.” “No, we won’t…” Celestia clicked her tongue. “For now, I just hope that the extra security Alexander brings doesn’t put you in too much danger.” “You and me both,” Chrysalis agreed, pursing her lips. “I just hope the Overseer buys it all. If he thinks I deliberately let him live…” “Yes. I know.” Celestia looked through the telescope in time just to see the aperture on the roof of the Liandri facility opening. The flying machine that had served as transportation during the Gala hovered out of it soon after. “Ah, it seems Alexander and Rose are leaving for Canterlot now. You’ll have to excuse me while I go alert Shining Armor. Do you know where he is?” “Near the training grounds, I think,” answered Chrysalis. “Thank you.” With a gracious nod, Celestia flashed away in an instant to another part of the palace. Twilight sighed to herself as she traveled along the palace walls. Guards were standing every few meters, keeping a constant vigil, and yet none were aware of the storm of thoughts invading her mind. So many things happening at once, so many new sources of stress… Twilight inhaled a deep breath and just as carefully released it. After speaking with her brother, she learned that the reason she hadn’t learned about the wedding from him was because he had only proposed to Cadence a week ago, and since then, some form of threat had been issued against the city of Canterlot. Naturally, between his job and the wedding, he had no time to tell anypony. It didn’t help that Shining Armor was the only pony that could cast a shield spell powerful enough to surround the entire city. At least his reasons for not telling her personally were sound. Cadence, on the other hoof, seemed… different. As it turns out, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was her old foalsitter turned formal Equestrian princess. Almost too formal. When Twilight was just a filly, Cadence had been extravagantly friendly and one of the best ponies to ever be around! Now, she seemed more distant. Colder. Practically a glacier! It was as if she didn’t even remember who Twilight was! As Twilight’s thoughts wandered, so too did her gaze when it caught a flicker of something in the sky, beyond the border of Shining’s shield. Twilight squinted her eyes to get a better look, but the action proved unnecessary as the unidentified flying object quickly came closer: it was Alex’s dropship. I thought they were going to take the next train…? The Raven quickly approached the spherical shield, but abruptly slowed down and hovered next to it. It only stayed in place for a few seconds until a large, circular hole appeared in the shield, just big enough for the Raven to float through. Once the aircraft had passed safely through, the hole in the shield closed behind it and the Raven made a beeline for the palace courtyard. From her spot on the ground, Twilight stared up at the sight in awe. The only other time she had seen it in flight was when she was inside it, but from outside, seeing the Raven soar across the enclosed sky was so strange and alien that it exhilarated even her most basic senses. Even the guards around her couldn’t help but stare up at the flying machine making its strange humming noises as it cut through the air. Airships were one thing, but this was something completely different. And that’s when Twilight noticed it, suspended from the back of the aircraft. She barely managed to make out its shape, and was a different color than the last time she saw it, but the recognition hit her like a ton of bricks. “Oh no, you brought that thing with you?!” Twilight cried, just before breaking off into a gallop for the courtyard. In the courtyard itself, the same one where the Raven landed two weeks prior, the exact same aircraft hovered overhead as Celestia and Captain Shining Armor walked out of the palace halls to meet it. The Raven gently lowered itself until it hovered about twenty feet from the ground, whereupon it released the cargo suspended from the back. A large, humanoid machine dropped the rest of the distance, landing on both feet with a loud, metallic thud, leaving small cracks in the stone tiling beneath it. It was tall, with a pair of rectangular lights on the front, and the metal that composed it was painted in such a way that it appeared to be wearing a black suit with a red tie, save for a section of the machine that was supposedly analogous to a head. Where each hand was supposed to be was instead a trio of shiny, metallic cylinders, fixed around each other. Shining Armor contorted his face in confusion as he stared at the odd looking metallic giant, thinking aloud: “What the hay is that thing?” Nopony, however, had an immediate answer for him. As the machine moved out of the way from its landing site, the Raven spun in the air to face away from Captain Armor and Princess Celestia before properly touching down. As the loud hum of the aircraft’s gravity engines died away, the rear cargo door finally began to open, revealing Alex, who began marching down the ramp with his arms held out. “Good afternoon!” he called out. When he came within talking distance to the Princess, he continued. “Hey, look, I know you said that extra security probably wouldn’t be necessary, but I decided to bring a few things and offer some help anyway.” He directed an exaggerated smile towards Celestia. “You don’t mind, do you?” Celestia gestured towards the stallion next to her. “I’m afraid I’ve placed Captain Armor in charge of security. You’ll have to ask him.” Alex turned his attention to the white unicorn standing beside the Princess. He was taller than most ponies, and his purple armor with gold trimming did nothing but attest to his position within the guard. “So you’re Twilight’s brother?” He extended a hand. “A pleasure.” Shining Armor reached out and shook his hand, cracking a smile at the mention of his sister’s name. “Yeah I am, and likewise.” Celestia, however, let out a startled, though not unpleased gasp when she noticed that Alex reached out with his left hand. “Oh my goodness, your hand! It’s…” Alex raised it up for her to see as she struggled to find the proper words. “Fixed? Yeah, to be honest, losing it was more of a temporary inconvenience than anything else. But then again, not very many people can say that.” He turned back to Shining Armor, gesturing towards the Liandri behind him who were busy unloading the equipment they brought with them. Two Reds carried an unmarked bronze colored box, while the rest carried a variety of other seemingly random alien objects. “So, mind having a few volunteers?” Shining Armor nodded his head. “Well, I’ve heard you’re trustworthy, and that your guards are top-notch. I guess wouldn’t mind some—” “WHY!?” The shout tore through the air and imbedded itself in everyone’s ears, and was even enough to make Alex flinch. Looking behind Celestia and Shining, Alex spotted Twilight marching out of the palace with a stare powerful enough to drill a hole cleanly through his head. “Why did you bring that thing?!” Twilight continued to shout, pointing at the Exosuit that slowly thundered towards them. “We’re preparing for a wedding! Not a barbeque!” “Thank you for your concern, Twilight,” Rose interjected, coming up behind Alex with both her human body and brass-colored combat chassis, “but the Biomech Mark Two has been refitted since your last encounter with it. I think you’ll find it significantly friendlier with the general public now.” The three ponies eyed the Exosuit warily as Shining Armor asked what was quite possibly the most pressing question among them: “Um… What exactly is Twilight talking about…?” Alex leaned back against the stone-still Exosuit as he crossed his arms. “I originally built this thing for Winter Wrap Up. Built flamethrowers instead of hands to melt snow. In hindsight, that was a really stupid idea: a fun idea, but a stupid idea nevertheless. As you can see...” Reaching up, Alex flicked one of the new attachments with a finger, resulting in a light metallic ting, “...we swapped out the flamethrowers for a set of tri-barreled miniguns. Honestly, it’s mostly for show, but they still work.” “That still doesn’t explain why you brought it,” Twilight pressured. “If anyone is going to attempt anything aggressive during this wedding, then we can guarantee that the presence of the Biomech will serve as an effective deterrent,” Rose answered be she turned to Shining Armor and added, “Congratulations, by the way.” “Thank you.” “You’re welcome.” Rose then turned to Celestia. “Now then, would I be correct in assuming we will be given our own quarters for the night?” The Princess nodded. “Of course! Would you like somepony to lead you to your room?” “Yes, however I must request that our room be positioned at the highest altitude you have available.” “The highest…?” Celestia blinked at the request. “I suppose that’s possible, yes. Might I ask why?” “Simply put, we’ll have an easier time communicating with our facility in Ponyville.” “Ah, I see.” She turned to one of the guards standing by the door. “Would you kindly see our guests up to the room on the southwestern tower?” “Yes, your highness,” the guard saluted, before gesturing to the humanoids to follow. “Go ahead and show these bots, we’ll be coming up shortly—thanks,” said Alex as the Reds carrying equipment marched after the guard. Clapping his synthetic hands together, Alex turned to Shining Armor. “In the mean time, would you mind if you gathered some of your guards together? Prioritizing the ones that are going to be watching over the wedding tomorrow, if you don’t mind. I want to brief them.” Captain Armor squinted his eyes at him, his discerning look leaving no doubt that he was both confused and skeptical of the request. “I don’t think that’ll be possible right now. Why?” “A simple reason, really.” Alex held up his hand, whereby a Nova with a red eye placed an Enforcer pistol in his palm. He continued as he began to idly play with the sidearm. “You see, Captain, these Liandri are not tools, and they are certainly no mere guards: they are soldiers. They are composed of the most advanced technology we have available to us, and use comparably sophisticated equipment. If your guards and my Liandri are going to be working together…” Alex locked eyes with Shining Armor for a split second before he gripped the Enforcer’s handle, whipped his arm to aim to the gun at the nearest tree, and pulled the trigger. The resulting gunshot and splintering of bark startled everyone save for himself and Rose. Casually turning his head back to Shining Armor, he finished: “... then I want them to know just who exactly they’re working with.”